WHZ View: West Ham must give Moyes a striker who can make the difference
West Ham supporters and David Moyes will be wondering how exactly they did not take anything from their London derby with Chelsea on Monday night.
The Hammers gave Chelsea more than a scare at Stamford Bridge, with Moyes’ side arguably the better side for most of the game.
Thiago Silva put the home side in front from a corner during the first half, but the game remained finely-poised up until the 78th minute.
The Hammers had a number of gilt-edged opportunities to both draw level and even push on for a potential winner, but Sebastien Haller simply could not make things stick against Chelsea.
At a time where West Ham really did need a potent figure in front of goal, Haller continued to struggle in the Premier League.
Despite his wonder goal against Crystal Palace, Haller’s performance against Chelsea highlighted why the Hammers must sign a new striker in January – or they risk seeing this fantastic start to the season fall away.
As per WhoScored, Haller only touched the ball 33 times against Chelsea. No West Ham player – including goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski – registered fewer touches.
Haller also managed just a single shot against Chelsea, which was not on target, as per Wyscout.
The Ivory Coast international also only won 8% of his aerial duels [Wyscout], despite having a sizable advantage over Chelsea’s Thiago Silva.
The striker was also unable to offer any kind of link-up play in the final third, completing 54% of his passes, as per Wyscout.
With Haller struggling to put away any of the good chances that West Ham did create, the game quickly got away from Moyes’ men.
Between the 45th and 75th minute, West Ham had nearly 60% possession of the ball in a game that was there for the taking.
It is in those moments where games like those quickly become missed opportunities for a point or perhaps even all three.
Strikers liked Josh King are being linked with January moves to the London Stadium, but the Hammers will have a decision to make both in the new year and the summer.
Moyes is as close as he has ever been to finding the perfect balance to this West Ham squad, but a lethal and reliable striker is a missing piece to his latest puzzle.
In other West Ham news, WHZ Moment of the Match: West Ham & Bowen hard done by officials in Chelsea loss